Letters and Autumnal Reunions
by ThunderMastery24
Summary: -No matter the distance, no matter how much time had passed, she always knew they would return. That, and how she would be more than prepared for when they did. Slight NaLu and Cappy undertones. One-Shot.
**Fairy Tail**

 _ **Read At Your Own Discretion**_

 **(Possible Spoilers)**

Lucy Heartfilia stares at the barely legible writing once more. Her russet eyes begin to burn with the tears welling up in them. Her heart fractures before the anger starts to seep out. No matter how many times she reads the letter, she can hardly believe the words that are there. Or what resembles them anyway.

"I can't believe they left without saying goodbye." The blonde murmurs quietly. It may have happened some time ago, but she can still remember vividly how she came home, expecting Natsu Dragneel and Happy to be sitting at her apartment, only to find a letter bidding her farewell.

"They just left their friends and probably never looked back." She leans back on her bed and stares up at her ceiling. "The least they could have done was say goodbye in person. Why didn't they take me with them anyway?"

She sighs before looking to her left. "Why didn't _he_ take me with them?"

Her eyes, previously stinging with tears, narrow as she glares at the wall. It's as if it's the building's fault.

"Instead they left us alone." Lucy growls. "How _he_ left me alone."

She looks back at her ceiling before sighing again. "I just don't know."

Getting off her bed, the flaxen mage takes a look outside her window. And the sight doesn't impress her given her current mood. In fact, the downpour almost caused her to cry once more due to how it reminds her of a dear friend.

 _Aquarius…_

The blonde can still recall how the Celestial Spirit had sacrificed herself so she could summon the Celestial Spirit King.

"I don't know how." Lucy murmured. "I don't know when." Her features turned resolute. "But I _know_ that we _will_ see each other again." She smiles sadly. "Aquarius, Natsu, Happy, I _will_ see you again."

* * *

Lucy Heartfilia leans her head back against the tree in the center of Magnolia. It's been a long time coming, full of endless tears and perspiration, but the bustling little town has _finally_ reached its former glory before Tartaros almost destroyed everything.

"It's turned out to be a beautiful day." The blond comments as she shields her russet eyes from the blazing sun above.

What crosses her mind is how she wonders how her friends in Fairy Tail are spending their lives. She doesn't think about it often, but when she does, tears brim the corners of her eyes.

No matter how long it has been, her heart breaks a little more each time she thinks of how the Fairy Tail guild disbanded.

At first a lively guild filled to brim with interesting and exciting people, it is now nothing but a distant (and sometimes bitter, sometimes sweet) memory.

Lucy still socializes with one of her friends. Levy McGarden was her best friend and fellow literature enthusiast and _nothing_ could change that. She often thinks of her other friends as well. Of scarlet hair and an intriguing imagination. Of stripping habits and azure hair that's always accompanied by white fur.

Since the guild's dissolution and its members departing to go their separate ways, it didn't stop them from coming together.

Ever once in awhile (mainly at the behest of a kind, silver-haired barmaid) they gather in the middle of Magnolia for a day of festivity. Sometimes, members from other guilds would join in on the fun as well.

People from Sabertooth, Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, and even Mermaid Heel and Quatro Cerberus would stop by. They have even seen Flare Corona and the Legion Platoon join the celebration. While everyone laughs and cheers and have an overall good time, it's a different story for a certain Celestial Spirit Mage.

For the flaxen novelist, something is always missing. More specifically, salmon hair and blue fur.

She isn't sure how long it has been, at first, Lucy counted the days since they left diligently, but it eventually become hard to bear and she gave up. Her heart breaks whenever she thinks of them.

Lucy sighs before she resumes writing in the notebook she brought with her to the park. She stops for a moment to glance up at the tree when a leaf falls to the ground and lands in the middle of the page she was writing on. The leaf's crimson with touches of orange; one of the signs that summer has passed and autumn is here. She picks it up before discarding it.

Suppressing another sigh, the blonde cannot but think one thing.

 _This is the second autumn that they've been gone._

She wonders if she'll ever see them again. Turning back to her writing, she finishes another page and flips to another.

After she does, she feels something. Something heartbreakingly familiar. If she had been standing up, she would've collapsed out of sheer happiness. Her ecstatic smile fades as she catches up with reality.

 _Don't be ridiculous Lucy._ She scolds herself mentally. _It's impossible that it could be him._ Her mouth curves into a faint scowl.

As she finishes her bitter train of thought, she moves her pencil to begin writing. When she reaches the fifth line, she can longer deny that the temperature has changed. It hasn't changed from a crisp autumnal evening to a chilly night though.

No, the change in temperature is much warmer. _Too warm._ And familiar. In fact, it is so familiar that her heart nearly stops.

 _Could it really be_ them _?_ Lucy thinks with grudging hope. _After all this time?_

Closing her notebook and putting it along with her pencil inside her bag, Lucy stands up and examines her surroundings.

"Natsu?" Lucy mutters under her breath. "Happy?" It is as if she raises her voice, the heat she feels nearby will evaporate and leave her depressed all over again.

She hears their voices before seeing their faces.

"Wow, Magnolia sure has rebuilt itself over the time we've been away."

"Aye sir, I wonder how everyone has been."

Before she can even think or stop herself, she bursts into a sprint. Lucy cannot help but feel as though it is ironic. Once upon a time, the authoress ran like there was no tomorrow. She ran until her legs felt weak with exhaustion and her lungs burned from the lack of air respiration.

She ran until she stopped on the edge of Magnolia and collapsed on the ground. She wept unlike she has ever cried before until her tears stopped.

Now, she sobs for an entirely different reason with a whole other emotion. Her tears are ones of happiness. Of joy. Of hoping until you can't hope anymore and you tire yourself out.

Her legs burn with an adrenaline she has never felt before. She runs through street after street. The Stellar Mage looks furtively in every direction, looking for just a speck of an excited smile or of alabaster wings. She looks in every window and shop she sees.

Suddenly, she is floored with a horrible possibility.

 _What if I just imagined it?_ A mutinous voice speaks at the back of her mind.

 _No._ The more determined part shoots back. Their _voices,_ his _warmth; it was_ too _real to be just an illusion._

With this thought in mind, she runs through the streets with renewed vigor.

"I'll find you." Lucy murmurs. Her russet eyes are almost ablaze with her resolve.

Running through another street, she starts to yell at the top of her lungs. "Natsu! Happy!" She cups her mouth with her hands. "Where are you two?!"

This continues for almost fifteen minutes until Lucy leans over to put her hands on her knees, panting as she's thoroughly and utterly depleted.

"Where are you two?" Lucy breathes out after taking a gulp of air.

"Lucy?" A masculine voice inquires behind her.

 _Natsu?_ Lucy thinks as her heart slows down from the exercise and yet starts to pound for an entirely different reason.

"Natsu?" She repeats out loud. She dares not turn around, lest what she heard turns out to be a sort of cruel phantasm. She knows that she has to - no, she _must_ \- turn around and see if it's true.

Upon turning around, she notices that his hair has gotten longer. Instead of a tuft of salmon, it's grown out to cover his onyx eyes. His left hand moves up to lift it so he can see more clearly. And while the magical energy radiating off of him (has he always been this strong?) fascinates her, it's his _eyes_ that Lucy are mesmerized by.

Because in those inky depths, she can see the man she used to know. The man who she laughed with, cried with, battled with. The man she loved.

And still does to this day.

Her eyes brim with tears as she gazes at him with a watery smile. "It really is you."

"Yep!" Natsu exclaims cheerfully. "It really-"

However, before he can finish his proclamation, he is punched to the ground by an extremely irate blond. The Fire Dragon Slayer lingers on the ground for a moment before standing back up.

"Ow Lucy." Natsu whines as he rubs his left cheek. "What was _that_ for?"

Lucy's left eye twitches with the incredulity building under the surface. "What was that for? _What was that for?!"_ Her hands are balled into fists as she starts to tremble. She knows that she must be causing a scene, but she doesn't care. She _has_ to say what's been on mind. "You idiot! It's for leaving us! It's for only leaving a letter! Didn't you think you could have said goodbye?!"

"Can't you see I missed you?" Lucy continues as the anger makes way for sadness. "Tartaros hurt all of us and you just up and left to train? Didn't you think to look back? Didn't you think to bring me with you?"

Her feelings and words are jumbled up, she knows that's true. Truthfully, how can _anyone_ be eloquent when so many feelings are burning up side them?

"Listen Lucy," Natsu begins. "I didn't want to leave you guys, I didn't want to goodbye in a letter, but I _know_ that if I saw you in person, I don't know if I would've left."

"I had to train to become stronger." He continues. "Igneel was killed _right in front_ of me. And I made a promise that I would destroy Acnologia for doing that." His voice softens. "I _had_ to become stronger to protect the people I care about."

"You're not the _only_ one who lost someone to Tartaros." Lucy says.

"Huh?" Natsu asks, puzzled.

Lucy digs around in her right pocket before she pulls out what she was searching for. And when she does, a look of horror crosses the Dragon Slayer's features.

"Lucy, is that…?" He lets the question hang in the air as he gazes at the broken item.

"I _had_ to summon the Celestial Spirit King." Lucy explains as she puts the key back in her pocket. "In order for me to do it though, I had to sacrifice one of my Celestial Spirits."

"Lucy, I'm so sorry." Natsu says.

The two look at each other. In their eyes, they can see the tumultuous waves underneath the surface. The pain and despair that they endured ever since Tartaros and Acnologia and Zeref. They also see a shimmer of hope and life shining within their depths.

Closing the distance between them, Natsu and Lucy collide. Natsu's arms wrap around Lucy's torse as the blonde reciprocates the gesture.

"I missed you." Lucy murmurs quietly into Natsu's waistcoat.

"I missed you too." Natsu replies as he slowly strokes Lucy's golden locks.

"Promise me you won't ever leave me again?"'

Natsu smiles softly, a ghost of his famous grin. "Promise." He pulls her away from him and gazes into her eyes. "After all," He smirks faintly. "what are partners for?"

The question causes a laugh to come from the blonde. "Yeah, what are partners for."

"To support each other and pick them up when they're down!" Happy exclaimed.

Natsu and Lucy disentangle themselves as they turn to regard Happy. The former grins at his best friend as the latter notices how the Exceed's fur had grown out a bit.

"Happy!" Lucy exclaims before hugging him.

"I missed you too Lucy." Happy says.

Natsu comes around to hug them. "Just wasn't the same without you Luce!"

Lucy sighs reflectively. It's been a long time since she had heard him call her that. "Yeah. It really wasn't."

* * *

Natsu takes deep whiff of Lucy's apartment after he enters it through her window with Happy close behind.

"This brings back memories." The Fire Dragon Slayer remarks.

"Aye sir!" Happy agrees as Lucy enters her apartment.

The Celestial Spirit Mage smiles at the sight of them near her window and sighs.

 _Some things never change._

* * *

"Where's Gray?"

"And Carla?"

After the three had been reunited and settled in her apartment, they had spent the rest of the day catching up with each other.

Natsu had spoken about the battles he had fought as Happy told her about the fish he had ate. Lucy told them how she had published her first book and was already through one-third of another.

It was a few minutes after they asked if they could read it when they had asked those two questions - along with the former voicing his intent for battle and the latter's wish to see his unrequited crush once more. The flaxen female frowns for the first time in a while at those inquiries.

"I don't know." Lucy answers as she was unable to meet their eyes.

"You don't know?" Natsu echoes. He shares a look with his Exceed, both of them curious as to the blonde's answer.

"Is there something you're not telling us Lucy?" Natsu asks as he scratched his head and his salmon locks fall in front of his eyes.

Lucy smiles ruefully before turning to look at her two friends. "That's right. You two don't know."

"Know what?" Natsu asks.

"What happened?" Happy questions.

Lucy then begins to explain, with a heavy heart and a few stray tears falling from her eyes, how Fairy Tail disbanded as a guild and all its members had gone their separate ways.

Natsu chuckles, the sound ringing with a certain hollowness. "You're joking, right?"

"They _have_ to be around here somewhere, don't they?" Happy adds.

"I'm afraid it's the truth." Lucy replies as she dabs at her eyes. "The only two who I know where they are would be Gajeel and Levy-chan since I stay in touch with her and they're both in the Magic COuncil."

When she had finished, she sees Natsu and Happy looking like they were trying to suppress a laugh.

" _Gajeel's_ in the Magic Council?" Natsu repeats for verification as he cackles along with Happy.

The blonde wants to restrain herself, but she can't help but glare at the two of them. "Yes." She says coldly. "He's actually one of their most capable members."

Lucy's frigid tone causes the two to cease their laughter and for a look of anxiety to flash across the salmon-haired male's features. "Lucy?"

The aforementioned female simply shakes her head. "Anyway, I don't know _where_ Gray, Carla, or the rest of our guildmates are," A frown appears on her face. "Such a shame."

The ensuing silence left the three alone with their thoughts before it is broken by a sigh from Lucy.

"Anyway, I should get ready for bed." She says before walking to her bathroom. "Make yourselves at home." She almost steps across the threshold to the room before she turns back to them with a smirk. "And I don't mean by clean out my fridge and eating everything!"

And with that said, Lucy closes the door behind her and turns on the shower, leaving them alone.

* * *

"Hey Happy, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That Lucy's acting stranger than we remember?"

Natsu's visage becomes a mask of contemplation. "I'm thinking that we have to do something about Fairy Tail and how it was disbanded."

Happy nods with determination as he clenches his paws. "Aye sir."

The two friends grin at each other as they are determined to do something about Fairy Tail. That is, until their stomachs growl loudly.

Natsu chuckles. "Guess we should eat something."

Happy nods. "Aye sir!"

* * *

When Lucy wakes up the next morning, she nearly falls out of bed. Mainly due to how her russet eyes open to see onyx eyes.

"Natsu!" She screeches. "What are you doing?!"

The Fire Dragon Slayer steps away to stand on the side of the bed as he crosses his arms. "Waiting for you to get up."

"Why?" Lucy inquires as she rubs the sleep from her eyes.

"Get dressed and I'll let you know." Natsu responds vaguely with a grin.

Lucy eyes him, shakes her head, and got her clothes as she went to change in her bathroom.

* * *

When Lucy enters her living room, she sees that Natsu and Happy seemed to be radiating more energy than usual.

"Are you ready Lucy?" Happy asks.

"Ready for what?" Lucy asks, curious as to what is running through their minds.

"Ready to rebuild Fairy Tail of course!" Natsu informs with a grin.

Lucy's eyes widen at the admission.

"Rebuild Fairy Tail?" Lucy repeats.

Natsu nods as he extends his hand. "So, what do you say Lucy? Want to rebuild Fairy Tail together?"

"Together?" Lucy echoes as she eyed his hand. A moment passed before she took his hand. "Yes."

And with that, the three begin an adventure to rebuild their guild.

 **Author's Notes: I'm just going to leave whatever...this...is here.**

 **Anyway, while I'm not sure when I started this, I think it was started after Fairy Tail's dissolution and sometime after the beginning of the Avatar Arc. Which, I guess is kind of obvious by the statement of "rebuilding Fairy Tail" at the end that's in the canon story. That and how she's still in Magnolia and not in Crocus. Hmm. At any rate, enjoy!**

 **Postscript. See this as a sort of canon-compliant, alternate version of the events that could transpire.**

 _ **Originally Added: April 22nd, 2016.**_


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